Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures is the incredible untold story of Katherine Johnson (Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Monae)––brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all general and race lines to inspire generations to dream big. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary by Theodore Melfi and Taraji P. Henson; five featurettes: No Limits––The Life Of Katherine Johnson (HD 10:03), The Right People For The Job (HD 13:32), Re-creating An Era––The Look Of Hidden Figures (HD 07:07), A Spiritual Journey––The Music Of Hidden Figures (HD 05:57) and Moving The Decimal––Honoring Katherine Johnson (HD 05:04); eight deleted scenes (HD 10:14); Filming In Georgia (05:15); upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy. Also available as a 4K Ultra HD version.

The 2.39:1 1080p AVC picture was photographed on Kodak Vision50 film stock with the Arriflex 416 camera in Panavision® and Super 16. The imagery is wonderfully colorful and perfectly natural, with strong saturation that infuses vivid life into the picture. Some segments are actually real footage of the period and America’s space program. Colors often pop, and hues are rich and warm. Fleshtones are accurate throughout. Contrast is perfectly balanced with deep, solid blacks and revealing shadow delineation. The prominent white shirts worn by the NASA engineers light up the screen in contrast to the colorful interior walls of the NASA offices. Resolution is excellent. Fine detail is evident throughout, especially with regards to facial features, hair, clothing and object. The equations on the blackboard and the text on the white paper in the file folders are nicely discernible. The tone of the picture is beautifully rendered with an overall warmth that is gorgeous to behold. This is an incredibly visually pleasing picture that often exhibits reference quality. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is impeccably nuanced with atmospherics and sound effects within the context of NASA operations in various office settings. The shuffling of papers, IBM Selectric typewriters, chalk writing, and Foley effects are all perfectly realistic. Such sonics really enhance the feel of the period. Dialogue also is effectively intelligible with good spatial integration. The music score is wonderful, with excellent fidelity and a wide and deep soundstage that extends to the surrounds to create the bulk of the envelopment, and lights up all four surround channels. Of course, the Friendship capsule launch of John Glenn is nicely energized with deep sub-25 Hz .1 LFE extension with all surround channels firing. This is a wonderfully executed soundtrack that is effectively nuanced and dynamic at appropriate
times. (Gary Reber)